


Cheering Section

by sanctuary_for_all



Series: (More) Scenes From A Partnership [6]
Category: Zootopia (2016)
Genre: Established Relationship, F/M, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Future Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-08
Updated: 2018-07-08
Packaged: 2019-06-07 00:32:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,134
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15206870
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sanctuary_for_all/pseuds/sanctuary_for_all
Summary: Everyone always knew when the Wildes were at school events. (Future fic)





	Cheering Section

Everyone always knew when the Wildes were at school events. 

Even if you didn't read the news -- Nick and Judy still cropped up there occasionally -- they were... well, visually distinct. Mixed-species parents weren't unheard of, but they were still pretty rare. Even fewer of those couples adopted children who were totally different species than either parent. And, even among that very small number, none of them ever brought extra "uncles" that were either yet _another_ species or so obviously criminal mammals checked their wallets as they walked by. 

On top of all of that, they tended to be... well, let's just say they tended to be _enthusiastic_ audience members. 

"It's just so _beautiful_ ," Judy sobbed, eyes never leaving the stage as she leaned her head against Nick's shoulder. "Isn't our boy doing an _amazing_ job?"

Nick patted his wife's shoulder. "He sure is," he murmured, holding up the phone a little higher so Clawhauser could get a better view. The cheetah had gotten stuck on the evening shift, but given the sobbing Nick could hear through the phone he was pretty sure everyone at the station knew what Clawhauser was actually doing. 

Nick wasn't anywhere near sobbing -- acting was pretty much a socially acceptable con, and though he could appreciate the skill he'd been doing it too long to let himself get affected -- but he was so full of pride he could burst. Ethan was supposed to be a pretty minor character -- the father of one of the idiot leads -- but his timber wolf son was (pardon the pun) _killing_ his death scene. Nick could hear sniffles all through the audience, even though the rest of the play was so boring he'd heard more than a few snores before this.

Some of those sniffles were coming from from the seat on the other side of Nick, which had been empty not even 10 minutes before. When he glanced over at Finn, amused, Finn glared at him. "Not a _word_ ," he growled. 

Nick turned back to the stage, hiding a smile. "I'm silent as a church mouse."

Ethan finished his death scene, his stage daughter and half the audience wept over him, and the curtain closed in preparation for the next scene. After a moment, there was another sniffle. "You didn't tell me he died this damn fast," he muttered, voice thick. "He better come back as a ghost or something."

"He absolutely does," Nick said soothingly, glancing upward at the cutest fruit bat in all of Zootopia. Luckily for Nick, she also happened to be his daughter. "Mia, go comfort your uncle." 

Mia, whose usual seat was the relatively safe perch directly on top of Nick's head, reached a wing down far enough to pet one of her still sniffling mother's ears. "Only if you've got Mom."

Nick smiled up at his daughter. "Always."

Mia flew over to perch on the top of Finnick's head, petting his hair. Nick pressed a kiss to the top of Judy's head, waiting for her still-teary smile, then turned back to the stage. Sure, nothing interesting was happening at the _moment_ \-- just some boring plot -- but Ethan would be back on again in a few scenes and he wanted to be ready. 

000

When Ethan said his last goodbyes to his onstage daughter, even Nick's throat got a little tight. Finnick disappeared right after that, but the rest of them had to sit through the last scene before the cast came out to take their bows. When it was Ethan's turn, the entire family clapped and cheered like it was a soccer game. Nick even started a howl, just to make sure there were enough mammals in the audience showing a suitably loud appreciation of his son's talents. 

Later, when Ethan came out to meet them in his street clothes, he immediately became the center of a lopsided but extremely loving group hug. 

"Hold the phone up to his cheek," Clawhauser insisted, and Nick hands the phone to Ethan so he could do it. Ethan rolled his eyes out of range of what Clawhauser could see, but there was a little smile on his face as he did it. Nick could hear the smacking kiss from here. 

Mia did the same thing to the other cheek, but in person. "You were the _best_ ," she said fiercely, wrapped around her brother's neck like a particularly attentive scarf. "The entire play should have been about you."

Ethan, grinning, carefully wrapped a protective hand around his sister. "I think the rest of the cast would have been annoyed with that."

"You can't blame us for being excited." Judy added, so much love and pride in her eyes it was like a beam of light as she looked up at her son. At 15, Ethan was already a little bit taller than Nick, which meant he was considerably taller than Judy. "You were amazing, sweetheart, really. Your Uncle C and I were a wreck pretty much the whole time you were onstage."

Ethan smiled. "I could hear." He got down on his knees so he'd be exactly the right height for Judy to give him the bear hug she'd wanted to. "I always have the best cheering section." 

"You'd better believe it." Judy's voice was damp again, but she made herself pull away and take Nick's phone out of Ethan's hand. "Now I better let your dad have a crack at you. He's trying to pretend he's all cool, calm and collected, but he's not as good at it as he used to be."

"Filthy lies, all of it," Nick said lightly, or at least as lightly as he could past the lump in his throat. "I'm the coolest, calmest and most collected mammal ever."

Judy gave him him an indulgent, loving look, and Mia grinned at him as she finally let go of her brother to fly in slow circles over their heads. He couldn't see Clawhauser's face at the moment, but Nick imagined his expression would be something similar. 

Ethan grinned at him as well, holding his arms out. "Of course you are. How else could you have raised the world's coolest, calmest and most collected son?"

A therapist would probably want to unpack the question a dozen different ways, probably starting with the time both he and Ethan spent on the streets in their younger years and ending with Nick's continued struggle to fully express his emotions. 

Nick, though, knew that there were some things family just understood. 

He wrapped his arms around his son, holding on with all the strength in his body. "I love you," he breathed into his son's fur. "You're the most amazing son a fox could ever ask for."

Ethan squeezed back just as hard. "Lucky for me I have a pretty amazing dad."

**Author's Note:**

> Come check out my [original fiction,](https://jennifferwardell.wixsite.com/mybooks) my [blog,](http://jennifferwardell.blogspot.com) or say hi to me on [Tumblr](http://sanctuaryforalluniverses.tumblr.com)!


End file.
